The PROVIDE Study: Primary care assessment of the ROche IPDM tools for Validation and Implementation in Diabetes management and Evaluation

IntroductionThe adoption of digital tools in diabetes care has transformed the way people with diabetes (PwD) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) manage the condition. Digital tools allow for remote management, improved accuracy in blood glucose readings, and enhanced education for patients. This paper presents the results of a 12-month service evaluation of the Roche Diabetes Care Platform, a diabetes data management platform that was implemented into a primary care network (PCN). The aim of the implementation of the RocheDiabetes Care Platform was to address the current challenges faced by clinicians and PwD in diabetes care, such as reducing complications, improving diabetes education, and the delivery of health care to PwD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually to capture the views of HCPs on their experiences with these digital tools. MethodologyInterviews were conducted with individuals in a range of roles, intrinsic to the diabetes service management in the Leicester PCN, at each stage of implementation. This included pre-implementation, implementation, and post-implementation phases. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. ResultsThe use of the RocheDiabetes Care Platform in the Leicester PCN has advanced HCPs management of PwD, demonstrably improving patient outcomes and enhancing interactions. There were two themes identified in the pre-implementation stage, including pre-appointment activities and challenges, and appointment activities and challenges. A further six themes were identified in the post-implementation results, including the optimisation of appointments, time and cost savings, enhanced engagement with PwD, the centralisation of resources, challenges in the PCNs pathway of care that the RocheDiabetes Care Platform addressed and the future vision of the PCN with the RocheDiabetes Care Platform. Overall, available and accessible data helped to reduce the number of appointments efficiency. Additionally, where PwD were onboarded onto the RocheDiabetes Care Platform, and there was no specific need for the PwD to attend the practice, the number of face-to-face appointments was reduced, improving overall clinic efficiency. Over the period of the evaluation there were no (0) Did Not Attend (DNAs).